Michigan Wolverines predicted to beat out the Notre Dame Fighting Irish for priority four-star recruit right out of their backyard
The Notre Dame recruitment of 2026 Chicago (Ill.) Simeon defensive lineman McHale Blade has been interesting to follow, and not necessarily in a good way for the fanbase. Head coach Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish staff has been on Blade for some time, and were in a tremendous position early on. Over the last […]
The Notre Dame recruitment of 2026 Chicago (Ill.) Simeon defensive lineman McHale Blade has been interesting to follow, and not necessarily in a good way for the fanbase. Head coach Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish staff has been on Blade for some time, and were in a tremendous position early on.
Over the last couple of months, things have gotten suspiciously quiet in that recruitment. It appears that things are officially trending away from the Irish, and Blade has now been projected to end up with a rival.
On Monday, On3 vice president of recruiting Steve Wiltfong has changed his originally expert prediction from Notre Dame in favor of the Michigan Wolverines. Here is what Wiltfong had to say about Blade following his recent official visit to Ann Arbor.
Move my prediction from Notre Dame to Michigan for Chicago (Ill.) Simeon On300 edge McHale Blade. He was one of the standouts in Ann Arbor over the weekend.
Chicago (Ill.) Simeon On300 edge McHale Blade has spent a lot of time with the Wolverines.
“Definitely a great fit for me,” Blade said. “You get best of both worlds with Michigan. Great academics and great football.
“They also have a track record of developing great d-linemen. They are pretty high on my list.”
The 6-4, 245-pound defensive end announced five finalists a few weeks ago, and the Irish were one of them. They were joined by the Michigan Wolverines, USC Trojans, Wisconsin Badgers, and Purdue Boilermakers in that top group. It appears that the Wolverines could win out, and soon.
Notre Dame has been busy putting together a tremendous defensive line class, including five-star defensive end Rodney Dunham and toolsy North Carolina pass rusher Ebenezer Ewetade. Blade was viewed as a potential finishing touch on an elite defensive end group. They will, instead, be focusing more on guys Elijah Golden heading down the stretch.
It is an unfortunate loss considering that Blade is very talented. He will be a potentially great addition to the Wolverines class, and a nice landing out of Notre Dame’s backyard.
Michigan Wolverines surprisingly still in the mix for highly touted four star defender amid his busy official visits season
The Michigan defense wasn't their usual dominant selves for the entirety of the 2024 season last year. Yes, the team had plenty of top tier NFL Draft talent in Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant, and Will Johnson when he was healthy, but the secondary gave up far too many explosive plays. Sherrone Moore knows his offense […]
